A second East Cobb location of Crumbl Cookies will be opening soon in the Parkaire Landing Shopping Center.
The Utah-based chain, which opened its first shop in 2017, will be moving into the former Cold Stone Creamery space at 640 Johnson Ferry Road, Suite 110, next to Ted’s Montana Grill.
Cold Stone Creamery’s signage disappeared last week, and although Parkaire Landing hasn’t removed the store from its directory the store’s website said it’s “temporarily closed.”
A response from Crumbl to an inquiry from East Cobb News said that “this store is still in the early stages. . . we are at the very beginning and months away from opening. . . permits, buildout and staffing still ahead.”
Crumbl Cookies makes fresh-baked cookies on premises, allowing customers to watch. After starting with a single product—chocolate chip cookies—Crumbl has grown its product line to include a rotating menu, and with ubiquitous pink carry-out and curbside pickup boxes.
Aggressive social media campaigns, especially on TikTok, also have helped Crumbl Cookies’ rapid expansion to nearly 600 locations nationwide.
Locally, Crumbl Cookies has opened at Sandy Plains MarketPlace, as well as Kennesaw and Marietta.
East Cobb News also has left a message with Cold Stone Creamery.
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From L-R: (l-r) Courtney Green of the Cobb Schools Foundation; Brenda Reid of Publix; Cobb School Superintendent Chris Ragsdale; Cobb Schools Foundation Executive Director Felicia Wagner. Photo Courtesy Cobb County School District
Publix Super Markets has awarded a $175,000 donation to the Cobb Schools Foundation as part of its “Tools for Back to School” campaign.
The foundation is a non-profit organization that supports students, teachers and educational needs in the Cobb County School District.
“Tools for Schools” includes participation from Publix patrons during the month of July, resulting in a donation to Cobb schools that was the largest in the state of Georgia.
The donation of gift cards will be used to purchase basic learning materials like pens, markers, crayons, and notebooks, particularly for students who are economically disadvantaged.
A district release said an estimated 50,000 of its 107,000 students fit that description, and their teachers often have had to buy those materials for them.
“Cobb Schools Foundation received the largest donation in the state of Georgia for this campaign,” Brenda Reid, the Publix community relations manager for the Atlanta region, said in the release. “We appreciate the generosity of our customers in donating to the school systems and foundations in our 7-state service area. Thank you for the partnership and all the great work Cobb School District does year-round.”
Said Felicia Wagner, the Cobb Schools Foundation executive director, said of Publix: “They can know that their support at the register is appreciated and is helping students in their own community. This donation will be distributed throughout our schools to serve students in need as well as teachers who are doing all that they can to create the best learning experience for students.”
For more about the Cobb Schools Foundation, click here.
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The Moxie Restaurant Group opened its fourth Moxie Burger location last month in the Kennesaw area.
On Tuesday, the East Cobb-based company announced it has sold its Moxie Taco restaurant at Paper Mill Village.
In a Facebook message Tuesday morning, the Moxie Restaurant Group said that the new owners are those who operate Camps Kitchen and Bar next door.
The new name of the restaurant will be the Green Coyote Cantina, and it will have a similar menu.
“We’ve truly loved building Moxie Taco into a favorite neighborhood restaurant within the East Cobb community and are so thankful for everyone who supported Moxie Taco with their visits, parties, and catering,” the Moxie Restaurant Group message said. “We ultimately made the difficult decision to sell, so that we can focus our efforts on putting Moxie Burger locations into more local community neighborhoods.
“The decision was made easier by knowing it will be handed over to seasoned, successful owners, who are passionate about the concept,” the Moxie message said. “We know our loyal MT customers will be in the best of hands.”
Robert Caswick, a co-owner of Camps, told East Cobb News that his ownership team, the MooCoo Group, took over operations of Moxie Taco last week and has begun a gradual transition to the Green Coyote Cantina.
The restaurant is open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily, and Caswick said hours will expand “once we are staffed up.”
He said the menu (see below) will feature scratch Tex-Mex entrees and specialty margaritas.
“We’re smoking meats in-house and have a margarita menu like no one else” he said. “We love East Cobb and are excited to serve the community we’ve met through Camp’s Kitchen & Bar.”
He said the interior of the Green Coyote will be updated gradually over the coming months during off-hours to make it resemble “a Far West Texas cantina.”
There also will be an expansion of the back patio overlooking the Paper Mill pond.
Moxie Taco opened in 2017 as La Novia Taqueria, then changed the name to reflect the Moxie brand.
Moxie Burger was started by Pope High School graduate Chas D’Huyvetter, who opened his first gourmet hamburger restaurant at Paper Mill Village in 2011.
The newest Moxie Burger is located at 1600 Kennesaw Due West Road, joining other locations on Shallowford Road near Lassiter High School and in Roswell.
The Moxie Restaurant Group message Tuesday said that there are “more to follow soon.”
East Cobb News has left a message with Moxie Burger.
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East Cobb resident Anna Hunt has been named an associate at terra alma, a commercial real estate advisory based in Alpharetta that specializes in emerging retail and restaurant brands.
She had previously worked at Van Michael Salons as a hair stylist and in a management capacity and has a decade of experience in customer relations and in building relationships.
“I’ll have a hand in transactions from the beginning and the opportunity to work with unique, exciting clients,” Hunt said in a release. “Best of all, I’m not just a number and not doing landlord work like I would have been doing at a bigger firm. I get the opportunity to work all over Atlanta with cool developments.”
Edie Weintraub, terra firma’s founder and Chief Community Builder, said Hunt’s “enthusiasm and eagerness are contagious.”
Hunt attended Valdosta State University and Georgia Perimeter College. She holds a cosmetology license from Aveda and is a former member of the Atlanta Board of Realtors.
She and her husband have two dogs and a cat and they enjoy hiking in North Georgia, taking the dogs on long walks, hiking, camping, exploring the great outdoors and traveling around the country.
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Cobb Police Det. Zachary Stannard. Photo: Karl L. Moore/Mooreshots LLC, courtesy Cobb Chamber of Commerce
A Cobb Police detective who linked a double murder to the stabbing of a police officer, leading to the apprehension of the suspect, was named the 2022 public safety employee of the year Monday by the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.
The award, according to a Cobb Chamber release, “is given to an employee who has performed his or her job with exceptional skill, exhibited leadership and critical incident management and a devotion to their responsibilities.
Det. Zachary Stannard was called to investigate the double murder of a Cherokee firefighter and his wife in November in a north Cobb home, the day before a Sandy Springs police officer was stabbed in the face and neck.
Initially the cases were not connected, but Matthew Lanz, 22, of Acworth was taken into custody two days later and charged in both incidents.
He was indicted on 13 counts by a Cobb grand jury in April, including malice murder in the slayings of Timothy and Amber Hicks.
Lanz also has been indicted on 35 counts in Fulton County, including attempted murder.
“Detective Stannard worked for days without rest to deliver justice for the family of the deceased,” the Cobb Chamber release states, including keeping “the family updated throughout his investigation and even attended the funeral of the victims.
Earlier last year, Stannard responded to the murder of a father who was shot while driving with his daughter in their car. The detective eventually identified the vehicles of the suspects and tracked them several hundred miles away.
“Detective Stannard maintains a fierce devotion to aid the citizens of Cobb County. Long hours and stressful cases can certainly demoralize many in the law enforcement profession. However, he has shown his ongoing desire to serve as the voice of those who cannot speak for themselves, and he provides closure for the families of his victims. Detective Stannard’s dedication, exceptional skill and expertise are what make him the incredible public servant he is to Cobb.”
The Award of Merit was given to the Cobb Fire and Emergency Service’s Squad 7 and Rescue 23 for their lifesaving actions during a house fire.
Cobb Emergency Communications Officer Theresa Carcioppolo was named the recipient of the Outstanding Community Contribution Award for her work educating children and adults about the 911 industry.
The Cobb Chamber luncheon on Monday included a tribute to the two Cobb Sheriff’s deputies who were killed last month in the line of duty. You can see that presentation below.
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A woman was arrested and charged with murder Friday in the strangulation death of an elderly woman at a home in the Loch Highland subdivision of Northeast Cobb.
A warrant taken out by Cobb Police against Gretchen Fortney, 52, of a Loch Highland Pass address, indicates she has been charged with murder in the commission of a felony and two felony counts of aggravated assault, including one involving strangulation.
She is being held without bond at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking reports.
The arrest warrant said that Martha Fortney, 78, was assaulted with “an unknown object or objects” by Gretchen Fortney shortly after 5 a.m. Friday at the residence, resulting in multiple injuries to the older woman’s torso and head.
The warrant states that the victim “was observed with what appeared to be the belt from her robe tied or looped around her neck” and there was a “visable ligature mark which resulted in her death.”
The warrant doesn’t indicate the relationship between the two women. Cobb property records show that Martha Fortney was the homeowner of the Loch Highland Pass residence.
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Outdoor burning is allowed in Cobb County from Oct. 1 to April 30, enabling citizens to burn limited yard debris such as leaves, pine straw, and small limbs from growth on their property.
However, there are some restrictions, as explained by the Cobb Fire and Emergency Services Department:
Burning is allowed between the hours of 10 a.m. and one hour before sunset (no smoldering or hot coals remaining). Yard waste fires must be completely extinguished one hour prior to sunset.
No burning is allowed on windy days (10 mph or higher) or on days when the atmospheric conditions (cloudy, overcast, or raining) would cause the smoke to remain low to the ground.
Burning must be attended by an adult who must be watching the fire at all times. Never leave a fire unattended.
A water hose long enough to reach the fire must be on hand and ready for use.
Fires may not be started with petroleum-based products.
Only clean wood may be burned. Clean wood means natural wood which has not been painted, varnished, or coated with a similar material; has not been pressure treated with preservatives; and does not contain resins or glues as in plywood or other composite wood products.
Yard waste (small) fire must be at least 50 feet from all structures, including fences of combustible material, limbs no larger than 6” diameter, pile no greater than 6’ x 6’, at least 25’ from roads with speed limits greater than 35 mph.
Yard waste fires larger than 6’x6’ require a Yard Waste (large) permit.
Burning in a barrel is prohibited.
Burning of garbage is prohibited. Garbage is any waste material that includes but is not limited to plastic products, Styrofoam, fiberglass, recycling wire (burned to access metal), tires, clothing, furniture, mattresses, boxes, papers, stumps, root balls, and kudzu vines.
Any yard debris that is moved from one property to another cannot be burned. For information regarding alternative methods to dispose of yard waste, contact the Georgia Environmental Protection Division at (404) 362-2537.
Even if all guidelines for burning are followed, you may be required to extinguish the fire if it adversely interferes with another’s enjoyment of life, use of property, or if someone with a health problem is affected.
The Cobb Fire Marshal’s Office has prepared a complete guide to outdoor burning that can be found by clicking here and here.
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State Rep. John Carson, a Republican who represents part of East Cobb, has been appointed to the board of directors for MUST Ministries, which serves the needs of homeless people and others in need in metro Atlanta.
“I look forward to joining the MUST Ministries leadership team and serving my constituents in this new capacity,” Carson said in a release. “For half a century, this organization has effectively changed the lives of Cobb and Cherokee County residents with compassion and without judgement, and I am honored to become a part of their mission.”
MUST has been serving Cobb, Cherokee and surrounding counties for 50 years, providing emergency shelters for unhoused individuals and families and provides food to those in need. MUST also has workforce development programs and a health clinic.
According to the organization’s website, MUST encompasses more than 17,000 volunteers and typically serves 33,000 people in a year. Since March 2020, MUST has fed almost 173,000 people two million pounds of food.
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The Atlanta Braves are playing host to the New York Mets at Truist Park this weekend in a big series that likely will determine the winner of the National League Eastern Division.
The Flying Biscuit Cafe in East Cobb is marking a big slate of events in October during its grand reopening, and has snagged one of the team’s stars to make an appearance this Sunday.
Pitcher Kyle Wright, the only player in Major League Baseball with 20 wins this season, will sign autographs and meet with fans Sunday starting at 10 a.m. at Flying Biscuit, located at Parkaire Landing Shopping Center (4880 Lower Roswell Road, Suite 70).
Wright won his 21st game Saturday as the Braves defeated the Mets 4-1 to take a one-game lead with four games remaining for each team in the regular season.
The Braves and Mets will play Sunday night at 7 p.m. in a nationally televised game on ESPN.
Flying Biscuit opened at Parkaire Landing in March 2021 but closed in August for a month to undergo training following an ownership and management change.
The restaurant kicks off a month of specials this week that include $1 and $5 meals. Gift giveaways are scheduled for next week, and the promotions are updated on its Facebook page.
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The following Cobb food scores for the week of Sept. 26 have been compiled by the Cobb & Douglas Department of Public Health. Click the link under each listing for inspection details:
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A rezoning request to convert the present Starbucks location at Paper Mill Village into a two-story coffee shop is being delayed to November.
The attorney for S&B Investments Inc. sent Cobb zoning officials a letter last week asking for the request to be removed from the agenda for a Tuesday hearing of the Cobb Planning Commission.
Garvis Sams said in the letter (you can read it here) that after holding a community meeting, “the consensus at the meeting was for S&B to avail itself of circumstances to revise the proposal in order to address expectations from area residents, members of the public and others.”
He didn’t specify what those expectations are.
S&B wants to demolish the small building on 0.73 acres at the northeast intersection of Johnson Ferry Road and Paper Mill Road. That’s housed the Starbucks for more than 25 years and a dry cleaner (a nail salon space is vacant).
The proposal calls for a 5,000-square-foot building for a new Starbucks with 25 parking spaces and a double drivethru. The new coffee shop would be open daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
In its analysis, Cobb zoning staff noted that 50 parking spaces are required under the NRC (neighborhood retail commercial) category the applicant is seeking.
The staff is recommending approval of the request (analysis here) but without a parking variance, meaning the size of the building would have to be reduced.
Two other rezoning requests in East Cobb that were to be heard Tuesday also have been continued to November.
ADP—Terrell Mill LLC is seeking community retail commercial (CRC) from low residential at 1140 and 1150 Terrell Mill Road for a self-storage facility with 47,059 square feet and 14 parking spaces. A companion special land-use permit also is required, and that request also has been continued.
The 2.55-acre parcel at the intersection of Terrell Mill and Delk roads and has an older homesite. Zoning staff has recommended denial, noting that the property is surrounded by residential areas and does not conform to the county’s comprehensive land-use plan which calls for medium-density housing in that area.
“Setback variances are proposed which demonstrate this proposal does not fit on the property,” the staff analysis concluded.
Also being delayed is a request to rezone 13.38 acres at 4701 Post Oak Tritt Road, near McPherson Road, from R-30 to R-15 for 20 single-family homes.
The Planning Commission is a five-member body appointed by the Cobb Board of Commissioners to make recommendations in zoning cases.
Final decisions are made by county commissioners, who meet on the third Tuesday of the month.
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The pedestrian bridge and trail joining East Cobb Park and Fullers Park will be closed temporarily for construction work.
The closure is expected to begin Monday and could last a month, according to information released this week by Cobb County government.
Cobb Parks and Recreation is set to restore and stabilize a portion of Sewell Mill Creek that runs between both parks and that was affected by severe flooding last September.
More recently, spring rains “caused considerable erosion to the stream bank in that area,” according to the department in an item about the project in an e-mail newsletter.
Cobb commissioners recently approved spending$104,500 from new Cobb 2022 SPLOST revenues to complete the project.
Previously, repairs along the Sewell Mill Creek stream bank at the front of East Cobb Park were made to produce a crest protecting the walking path and quad areas.
Grass was planted over Flexamat, which are “small concrete blocks locked together and embedded into high-strength geogrid.”
Flexamat also will be used in the upcoming project, the department said, to “prevent further deterioration of the stream bank and help beautify the area’s natural landscape.”
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A rendering of the proposed reconstruction of Gritters Library, which is to replace a nearly 50-year-old branch in Shaw Park.
A proposed contract to begin construction of the replacement building for Gritters Library in Northeast Cobb was pulled by Commissioner JoAnn Birrell Tuesday because she couldn’t get enough support from her colleagues.
Near the end of a five-hour meeting, Birrell said she was withdrawing a $10.5 million proposal for the new library building and a renovation of the adjacent Northeast Cobb Community Center.
That’s $2.5 million more than what was initially projected because of what county officials said were rising construction costs.
The contract proposal would have made up for the shortfall with general fund revenues, which some commissioners objected to.
“Until we can find out where an additional $2.5 million is coming from, it’s the consensus of the board that we’ll explore other avenues,” Birrell said somberly.
“It’s near and dear to my heart and it kills me not to be able to move this forward,” she said. “We’ve got some work to do, but we’ll get there.”
Both projects are earmarked in the 2016 Cobb SPLOST. The Gritters project received a $1.9 million capital outlay grant last year from Georgia Public Library Services, while the community center renovations were pegged at $1.2 million.
Last December, Cobb officials even held a groundbreaking for the new Gritters building and a new Cobb Police Precinct 6 station next to the Mountain View Aquatic Center. Work to start that latter project also has been delayed due to construction cost increases.
Before the vote, Abby Shiffman, a Cobb Library trustee board member, urged commissioners to finalize the Gritters contract.
Construction was tentatively scheduled to begin in December to rebuild Gritters, which opened at its current location in Shaw Park in 1973.
Initially the plan was to renovate the building at a cost of $2.9 million, but later it was determined that an entirely new facility was needed, at a cost of $6.8 million.
Gritters is the last of the library projects remaining in the 2016 SPLOST. That collection period funded the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center that opened in early 2018, replacing the East Marietta Library.
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Jessica Guinn, Director of Cobb Community Development Agency
For the first time, short-term rental properties in unincorporated Cobb will be regulated by the county.
But before the 4-1 vote by the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday, some citizens still expressed either opposition or wanted them to delay passage and make further changes to the proposed ordinance.
While acknowledging the first-time code provision is far from perfect, Cobb Community Development Director Jessica Guinn said it’s important to get started with an enforcement mechanism.
The new ordinance will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
Each rental must have a designated local agent available to be contacted about parking, noise and other issues.
The regulations would allow up to one person for every 390 square feet and parking, building, health and sanitation regulations governing single-family zoning would also apply.
The rentals would be subject to hotel/motel taxes tourism fees and other local and state taxes.
The ordinance would require a separate certificate for each rental, lasting no more than 30 days.
In a major revision from the initial Sept. 13 public hearing on Cobb code amendments, only one active certificate could be in use per dwelling unit.
That was a response to concerns that single-family homes could be turned into “transient hotels,” with multiple parties occupying a residence at the same time.
But homeowners who rent out their homes said that would make it difficult for them to make ends meet, and that institutional and corporate owners of homes would benefit from the new law.
Jonathan Tremblay, a short-term rental owner, said he supports an ordinance to remove the ambiguity around the issue, but objects to the revised ordinance.
The changes, he said, “have effectively prevented homeowners from supplementing their income from short-term rentals.”
Tremblay said his attempts to speak with commissioners and county staff have been in vain.
“Without short-term rentals, me and my family will most likely have to file for bankruptcy and will likely have to relocate out of Cobb County,” he said.
Commissioner Keli Gambrill, who was the only vote against, held up a copy of a state law that the president of the Cobb Association of Realtors referred to during a public comment period.
Wendy Chambers told commissioners that state law prohibits local governments from mandating that residential rental properties be registered with the county.
“Requiring someone to register their property in any form or fashion is against Georgia law,” Marshall said, adding that current Cobb ordinances governing parking, noise and other provisions of the new code could be used.
She also said there may be constitutional issues under the Equal Protection clause, since short-term rental owners would be treated differently than those who rent out for longer periods of time.
“I’m not sure that Cobb County wants to take away the personal property rights of its residents,” she said.
When Gambrill later asked why the county didn’t draft the proposed ordinance “to supplement what the [state law] didn’t address,” she was told by Cobb County Attorney Bill Rowling that “it’s not a registration. It’s a business license.”
This is the third time Guinn has brought a proposal to commissioners, and said what she submitted is similar to provisions that exist in other local jurisdictions.
“Currently we have nothing,” Guinn said. Commissioners delayed a vote on the short-term rental proposal when it updated the code in January.
Commissioner of JoAnn Birrell of East Cobb said she didn’t see a need to delay passing an ordinance any further.
“To keep holding this when you’ve been saying all along we need to do something,” she said. “We can always change it down the road.”
Commissioners also approved new code changes that would require annual inspections of multi-family housing, require a permit from the Cobb Fire Marshal’s office for outdoor events with more than 1,000 people and ban smoking and vaping in county-owned parks, sporting complexes and recreation areas, except where designated.
A landlord would be required to hire a certified building inspector at its own expense and that is approved by the county. A quarter of a property’s units would be inspected every year. That ordinance will becoming effective Jan. 1, 2024.
In another new ordinance, developers who wish to build private streets must build them to county standards for public streets and a homeowners association is required to insure, maintain and repair them to county standards.
Also passed Tuesday was an updated code provision requiring rezoning applicants to file a traffic study at least 15 days before a request is heard by the Cobb Planning Commission.
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Walton and Wheeler students produced collective SAT scores in 2022 that are among the top 10 high schools in Georgia.
According to data released by the Georgia Department of Education, Walton’s 517 test-takers produced a combined score of 1,255, third in the state.
Wheeler, which had 296 students take the SAT this spring, had a score of 1,211, tied for 10th. Lassiter and Pope scores were right behind.
The Scholastic Aptitude Test is administered every spring for seniors. They are tested on evidence-based reading and writing and math.
The maximum score is 1,600 (achieved by a current Wheeler student in May, when he was a sophomore), with 800 scores being the limit in the two portions of the test.
The average individual SAT score is 1,068, and five of the six East Cobb high schools surpassed that in 2022.
Overall, students in the Cobb County School District produced a mean score of 1,111, according to a release issued Wednesday by the school district.
Those figures are higher than the national and statewide averages. The national mean score in 2022 is 1,028, and in Georgia it’s 1,052.
Cobb students posted a reading and writing mean score of 545 and a math mean score of 566. A total of 4,813 Cobb students took the test in May.
Although most of the 2022 scores are slightly down from 2021, an additional 1,362 Cobb students took the SAT this year, a jump of 30 percent from last year, according to the Cobb school district.
Cobb students also scored higher than their counterparts in large school districts in metro Atlanta, according to state education department figures.
Fulton’s mean score is mean score is 1,101, Gwinnett’s is 1,097, Cherokee’s is 1,091, Paulding’s is 1,032, Forsyth’s is 1,014, DeKalb’s is 1,000 and Atlanta’s is 947.
Fayette County schools led metro Atlanta with a mean score of 1,132.
“I cannot say enough about how proud I am of our teachers and the entire team,” Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in the release. “Despite all the uncertainties and distractions of teaching and learning in a pandemic, our teachers remained focused on what is best for students. The commitment to high-quality classroom choices, supported by our Board during the pandemic, is a primary factor that led to the highest SAT scores in the metro area.”
What follows are full scores for the six high schools in East Cobb, followed by the Top 10 schools in the state.
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The National Weather Service map tracking the possible path of Hurricane Ian that was released late Tuesday afternoon.
Due to possible heavy rains and storms stemming from Hurricane Ian, a number of high school football games in Georgia have been moved up to Thursday night, including those involving teams from Cobb schools.
The Cobb County School District Media Relations office said in a message that all of the Cobb teams in action this week are playing games on the road—out of the county—and Thursday’s kickoff times are the same for what had been scheduled on Friday.
Although Cobb schools are on fall break, sporting events are taking place. Only four Cobb public high schools were to play this week, three of them from East Cobb:
Lassiter at Johns Creek
Sprayberry at Alpharetta
Walton at North Paulding
According to the National Weather Service, Ian is on a track to the Florida Gulf Coast near the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, and is projected to make landfall Wednesday afternoon, possibly as a Category 4 hurricane.
Ian passed over Cuba Tuesday as a Category 3 storm, and more than 2.5 million people in Florida have been encouraged or ordered to evacuate.
The storm system is expected to reach southern Georgia early Friday and could move into the Atlantic Ocean and threaten the Georgia coast. Gov. Brian Kemp has declare a state of emergency for all Georgia counties from 7 a.m. Thursday to midnight Friday.
The preliminary forecast doesn’t include Cobb County and metro Atlanta in those warnings. The NWS is forecasting a 40 percent chance of rain Friday, from the mid-afternoon through the evening.
The Atlanta area could get between 1-3 inches of rain during that time, and possibly more in some areas of north and central Georgia.
Strong winds between 30-45 mph could be felt in some areas, and there could be power outages and isolated flash flooding.
Rain will continue all weekend, with a 60 percent chance Saturday and tapering off to a 40 percent chance Sunday and 20 percent on Sunday night and into next week.
For more information and to track the hurricane click here.
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Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
Rendering from site plan application to be heard by Cobb commissioners Oct. 18.
A development company that is presently converting the former GTC Cobb Park 12 Cinema complex in East Cobb for a self-storage facility wants to use a portion of that property to build a standalone restaurant.
Filings with the Cobb Zoning Office show a request by Stein Investment Group to amend a site plan for a special land-use request approved in 2021 at the northeast intersection of Gordy Parkway near Shallowford Road.
The request, which is scheduled to be heard by Cobb commissioners Oct. 18, calls for taking out part of the former cinema parking lot for the restaurant (see site plan below), which would contain 3,200 square feet and have 29 parking spaces.
The application was filed Sept. 13 (you can read through it here) and there isn’t a staff analysis and recommendation yet; site plan changes don’t have to go before the Cobb Planning Commission.
Stein Investment received a special land-use permit required in Cobb for storage facilities to build 101,190 square feet of self-storage space. Plans also called for the building of a 33,785-square-foot-building adjacent to that, with a basement.
There aren’t many other details yet about the restaurant; the site plan notes that there will be two-way access on Gordy Parkway and right-in and right-out access on Shallowford Road. The site plan and accompanying renderings also show a double canopied drive-through for the restaurant.
Stein has retained noted Cobb zoning attorney Garvis Sams, who handled the self-storage request last year. He’s also representing S & B Investments which is proposing a two-story Starbucks at Paper Mill Village.
That request will get its first hearing next Tuesday before the planning commission.
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The 2.55-acre parcel at the intersection of Terrell Mill and Delk roads and has an older homesite. Zoning staff has recommended denial, noting that the property is surrounded by residential areas and does not conform to the county’s comprehensive land-use plan which calls for medium-density housing in that area. 
